Annex 1
CASE STUDIES
Tania and Susie's Story
Tania and Susie, twins aged seven years, came
into care due to concerns about their neglect at home. They have
been in their current placement for a nearly a month. The foster
carer asked the advocacy service to visit because the girls were
very distressed. They didn't understand why they were in care;
they were worried about their cat and other personal possessions
and about where their mum was living and when they could see her.
They want to know when they can go back to their old school. The
advocate is liaising with the social worker and trying to arrange
a visit for the girls to see their mum. She is struggling to get
the social worker to understand the urgency of reassuring the
girls. The advocate is helping the girls prepare what they want
to say at their first review and has agreed to attend to support
them in the meeting.
Ahmed's story
Ahmed is 14; he has been accommodated on a full
care order since he was 10. He has had numerous placements within
the local authority and a history of being missing for considerable
periods. As a result he was found an out of authority placement
where he spent about 18 months. Whilst there Ahmed sustained serious
injuries to his face and eye during an incident involving an older
young man. Soon after Ahmed was returned to the local authority.
Due to many changes of social worker and periods when his case
was unallocated Ahmed's claim for Criminal Injuries Compensation
has been ongoing for several years. He is understandably anxious
and distressed when required to go into the details of the incident
repeatedly. Unfortunately Ahmed's disillusionment with Social
Services manifests in ways, which do not always help his cause,
resulting in him having a reputation as a difficult young person.
He has now been allocated his sixth social worker and he has refused
to meet her, as `she'll only leave in a couple of months'. The
deadline for the completion of the Criminal Injuries claim is
getting close and the care home worker referred Ahmed to the advocacy
service to help him progress the claim. He sees the advocate as
different from `the social', he is helping him progress the claim
and working on encouraging him to trust the new social worker.
Brendon's Story
Brendon has a learning disability and very little
speech. He spent five years with the same foster carers but due
to a sudden change in their family circumstances he could no longer
stay with them. Brendon was placed with a new foster family but
with little time for introductions. He soon became distressed
and his behaviour deteriorated. The new foster family couldn't
cope and social workers couldn't find a new placement. In desperation
he was moved to a mental health unit. An advocate was then introduced
and over a period of time got to know Brendon and his way of communicating.
The advocate was able to help Brendon keep in touch with the first
foster carers and is working with the social worker to make sure
Brendon is involved in planning a move to a more suitable placement.
Frankie's Story
Frankie is 14 and spends long periods of time
hospital as a result of his complex health needs. Many different
staff provide his daily care needs. Frankie uses the Picture Exchange
Communication System when he is at home and when he is well enough
to go to school. Frankie's advocate soon realised that he had
no pictures in his PECS file that related to the environment in
hospital and as a result was struggling to communicate his preferences
to the hospital staff. Once this was rectified the nursing staff
were able to use the pictures to help explain to Frankie what
was going to happen next in relation to his treatment. The advocate
made sure Frankie had a transition review meeting even though
he had not been in school for quite a while and helped Frankie
prepare two important things that he wanted to say using pictures
and symbols.
Jasmine's Story
Jasmine is 15 and has been in care since she
was very small. She has moved placements several times as staff
have struggled to cope with her physical care needs. In her latest
placement Jasmine seemed to be increasingly in conflict with the
care staff. An advocate was introduced to Jasmine and having spent
some time with her away from the unit, and building up her trust
the advocate discovered Jasmine was feeling really constrained
by the unit's rules and routine. She felt she wasn't being encouraged
to make her own decisions or make friends away from the unit.
She felt the staff were being too protective of her and wouldn't
let her take any risks. Her advocate went along with Jasmine to
her next review and supported her to be honest about how she was
feeling. The review team arranged for the local person centred
planning worker to get involved and with the support of her advocate
Jasmine is preparing for her first person centred planning meeting.
Paul's story
Paul, aged 13, contacted the advocacy service
as he had been informed by children's services that they wanted
to move him from his foster placement. Paul had visited the new
placement but did not want to move as he was settled where he
was and happy in his school. Children's services stated that the
current placement has been made on a short-term basis and therefore
they needed to move Paul. It was also their view that the carer
was manipulating Paul to prevent the move.
An urgent complaint was submitted in which the
advocacy service requested that the move be frozen. Although this
was agreed, children's services re-iterated their intention to
move Paul although they were reluctant to discuss their reasons
with him. The advocacy service stressed how important it was for
the social worker to engage in a more open and honest dialogue
with Paul in order that he could understand the reasons why he
was being moved and so that his wishes and feelings played a central
role within the planning process.
A placement planning meeting was arranged in
which Paul was able to contribute his views with the support of
his advocate. In light of his wishes, it was agreed that the current
carer should be re-assessed with regard to her ability to provide
long term care. The assessment found no concerns and it was agreed
that the young person could remain in his placement. Paul was
pleased with the outcome but felt let down by children's services
and angry that they had not listened to his views from the outset.
| 
